Welcome to the start of Fiction Podcast Recommendation Thursday! (It's a working title)
This is where I give a fiction podcast every week and gush about it and maybe give some actual description about what it's about. And with this hopefully you will find some new podcasts to listen to!
This blog is moderated by Blair (@trashburgersblair) (she/he/it)
If you have a fiction podcast you'd like to recommend to the people? Send in an ask!
Include the Name, a short description of what its about, then feel free to gush about it to your hearts content. If you could, it would also be nice to include weather your rec has transcripts and/content warnings available
Want a large list of fiction podcasts that you can also add to?
Fiction Podcast / Audio Drama List Basic rules are this: If you're seeing this you probably came here through a link and you should have co
Be aware this list only includes names and runtimes of each podcast!
Tags used on this blog:
fiction podcast rec thursday - tag used for any recommendations given or any received
submitted recs! - for any recommendations summited though the ask box
fprt mod rambles - text posts from me that aren't recs or don't have anything to do with fiction podcasts
fprt updates - any post that is about an update or possible change with this blog
not a rec - any miscellaneous posts that don't fall into any previous categories or just any post that isn't a recommendation
youtube search is useless and so is a general search. anyone here ever watched a good video essay/read a good article about like. history of fiction podcasts and/or audiodramas? . or an analysis of it as a medium? pls and thank you
i've made a sort of audio drama introduction playlist featuring the first episodes of fifty shows! might add some more later, but if you're new to audio drama and wanna get a taste of what this medium has to offer, check it out and subscribe to your faves.
We'd love to check you out, especially if you're not currently on our radar (you should be, so let's fix that!). Pop a reply to this post so we can listen!
Any tips on starting your own audio drama? Getting an aide, cast calling, production, etc?
My main tip is to be mindful of the scope in relation to your skills and resources. I developed the premise of ANA knowing that I didn't have any experience so I picked something that would be simple to sound design and wouldn't need a huge cast of characters. If I made it complicated to sound design, I'd have to pay my sound designer more. If I was good at doing it myself, then I might have picked a more complicated idea. Likewise, if I had artist friends who were eager to volunteer art and voice acting and music and stuff, I'd probably have more of that. But I knew that basically all I'd be doing was the writing and directing so I had to keep everything else as managable as possible.
Besides that, don't be afraid to reach out to creators to ask questions. I asked Hannah, the showrunner from Inn Between questions when I was just starting out and she was really gracious and helpful. Don't resort to AI for anything (art, voices, writing). It'll turn a lot of people off from the jump. If I catch a whiff of AI on anything, I'm not touching it on principle.
When you're ready to cast, look up casting calls and model your call after them. That's what I did. I post my casting calls on reddit, tumblr, and discord (there are groups for audio drama creators and for voice acting). I used to also post them on Twitter but I don't really use Twitter anymore so I post them on Bluesky instead. If your premise seems interesting and you come across professional, you'll likely get interested actors even if you're looking for volunteers, but you'll fill roles a lot faster and get people with more experience if you're paying them, even a token amount. If you're taking people on on a volunteer basis, you have to make sure you're not coming at them all demanding. They're doing a favor to you. You can't be hounding for them lines when you're not payng them and they're probably busy with their actual paying jobs. To be clear, be respectful to your actors no matter what, but be especially mindful if they're volunteers.
That's what I can think of off the top of my head besides make sure to have fun!
Do you make... noise? Nice noise? Noises that you enjoy making that you'd like to share?
I'm looking for someone to make me such noise!
Noise that will be played in an audio drama!
I'm very interested in your noise (so much so, i'll pay you)
Happy Pride Month from the "Jar of Rebuke" team!! If you're looking for podcasts to enjoy as we work on season 3, then we've got a handful of recommendations for you! Let us know if you'd like more recs from our team~! 😘
The Queer Thesperience @thesperience
Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Podcast @unwellpodcast
Dos: After You @dosafteryou
Georgie Romero is Done For @georgieromeroisdonefor
The Soft-Boiled Detective @thesoftboileddetectivepodcast
Anyone else hate when casting calls say things like “male voice,” “female sounding voice,” etc? It’s like they’re saying “trans people need not apply.”
Yes!! I wanted to link this fantastic guide but I was having trouble finding it. If you’re not sure how to make your casting calls gender-inclusive, check out this great resource!
hey podcast creators, or anyone this may apply to, what kind of sound effects do you need? what kinds are hard to find? I'm looking to get into making (free/pwyw) sample packs so if you could let me know what kind of sample packs you think you'd get I would appreciate it + I think I could help make those happen 🙏👀
As part of writing my thesis I am looking to study people's experiences with fiction podcasts/audio dramas, so if you could take 5-10 minutes to fill in the form below, I will be very very grateful!
ENG:
Greetings all, I am a student of Logistics and Media Administration at a public Polish university. As a part of writing my thesis I am
Rbs and shares also encouraged and appreciated! Feel free to repost the link anywhere you'd like, too!!
podcake's advice for your first audio drama: pt. 1/???
IN: A MODERN MASTERPIECE | OUT: A BLANK CANVAS
♡ invest in an experienced graphic designer or artist
i once wrote an article about the importance of presentation when it comes to podcasts and i think it still holds true that visuals, even in the world of audio entertainment, can hold a lot of sway over who might be drawn to your show.
not only can consistent artwork give your show a unique aesthetic and identity, but it can also help people associate certain colors, symbols, and imagery with your show that will leave a lasting impression.
try to remember the basics for good cover art: a solid color scheme, good cropping (i love a solid 500x500), high resolution, a readable font—think to yourself, "if i saw these images, would i be tempted to check out this show?"
so i'd highly advise setting aside some budgeting to have a talented artist or graphic designer, or maybe even both, cook up some accompanying images that can go towards advertisements, promotions, individual episode art, or, if you really want to, official character designs.
do you already know how to do those things? then put those skills to good use and make your painting worth a thousand downloads!
IN: PATIENCE | OUT: FALSE PROMISES
♡ have a script before you have a cast
now this one is especially important. as eager as you might be to start an audio drama and want to get the ball rolling as soon as possible, it is imperative that you have some words on paper before you even think about recruiting actors.
and i know this sounds obvious at first, but trust me, i've run into several ambitious newcomers who started their casting calls long before they even had a rough draft to their name.
while beginning the recruitment process is tempting, bear in mind that these people you've hired—and yes, you are hiring them—are now on indefinite standby until you've gotten something for them to read.
at worse, you might end up with a project that never gets off the ground with a group of people who thought they were going to get their big debut in voice acting, or have another amazing role under their belt, left out to dry.
even worse than that, if you ever do get that script finished, there's no telling what word of mouth can do to your reputation as a showrunner, making your options even more slim.
IN: SWEET SUMMARIES | OUT: RIDICULOUS RAMBLING
♡ keep your descriptions classy
now this seems like a no-brainer. you've gotten to the point when you can publish your show on spotify or podchaser or soundcloud or wherever people host podcasts, and it all comes down to a few simple sentences to rope people in.
and while it sounds simple on paper, an engaging description can do quite a bit of heavy lifting, especially when it comes to selling people on your first episode.
in my honest opinion: short and sweet wins the race. nothing too short, obviously, but some of the best descriptions i've come across can say a lot with so little.
but if you wanna go the route of longer descriptions, i'd highly advise keeping these concise and cut down on any unnecessary fluff. get to the good stuff without being too specific—the vagueness will give your listeners something to look forward to!
also, and this is just a side note and undeniably just my opinion, but when it comes to complimentary language to describe your show—entertaining, hilarious, compelling—try keeping it to a minimum, or, better yet, have it come in the form of a quote from a reviewer or any other sort of press.
(fun fact: i had my own review quoted for the summary of the audio drama podcube™ and i am flattered to this day!)
while it's essential to be proud of your show, you don't want to assume audience reactions, and too much self-congratulatory language can come off as insecure and insincere.
instead, try descriptive phrases that present the genre, tone, and plot—trust me, it's way more convincing. long story short: be informative, but never excessive.
IN: PASSION PROJECTS | OUT: CASH GRABS
♡ do it for the art, not the money
be honest with yourself: are you making an audio drama because you respect the medium and feel your show would be best represented in this format, or are you just doing it because "well, night vale made a lot of money, so now you can too!"
for starters, get that way of thinking out of your head as soon as possible because it is no way to go about the creative process in any area of the artistic field.
if you're cynically pumping out content, people are going to catch on eventually that your endgame was never to entertain and inspire, but to reap the benefits of the potential income.
making money off of an audio drama is, in itself, a great, and sometimes guaranteed, perk, and believe me when i say there are plenty of people that will happily financially contribute to your continued success, but that should never be your main motivation.
and i get it, we all want to do what we love for a living, but if you throw yourself into a community that you have no respect for, you'll be laughed right out of the door.
Life is dark rn, it's... not going great.
So, i don't suppose there's like 20 creators out there who suddenly need a masc sounding TransFem VA that can pay even a little for stuff? ^_^;
"Will VA for money" should be a sign i just permanently have glued to my back. xD
I hope people are well, truly x
This is more of a general recommendation for anyone from a Portuguese speaking country who might be following, but I'm starting a podcast/audiobook for my book A padaria de lugar nenhum! It's an lgbt+ fiction podcast about a post apocalyptic pie delivery (I am open to posting in English too, if anyone in the chat is interested)
Happy to boost.
I like the name, and post-apocalyptic pie delivery intrigues me, so I'm sure you'll find an audience.
Read more on mechadovapod.com and follow this blog for updates!
This slideshow was put together by the wonderful Niamh @anoniamhmous. All the delightful pictures, visual jokes, and additional captions were done by Niamh, while the written bulletpoints and titles were done by @lumoakes.
